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The life of a Royal Navy cat, who gained fame for his exploits in helping to save the lives of the crew of HMS Amethyst in 1949, was commemorated at a special ceremony in East London yesterday, 1 November 2007.
Former Royal Navy officers paid tribute to famous rat catcher 'Simon the Cat', who was awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, by laying wreaths on his grave at the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Animal Cemetery in Ilford, on the anniversary of his death.
Simon is the only feline ever to receive the prestigious PDSA Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross - for his role in the infamous Yangtse River incident which cost the lives of several British sailors.
HMS Amethyst was heading up the Yangtse River to relieve the guard ship HMS Consort, who was protecting the British Embassy at Nanking, during the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomingtang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists.
Amethyst came under heavy fire from Communist shore batteries and a series of direct hits virtually crippled the ship, killing 15 men and wounding numerous others. With the ship run aground, some of the crew managed to swim to safety but some 50 others remained on board. HMS Consort soon came to the rescue but also came under heavy fire, taking 56 hits, resulting in nine more deaths and more wounded.
Other rescue attempts were made resulting in even more deaths. For more than three months Amethyst was held a virtual prisoner by the communists who withheld vital supplies as they insisted Lieutenant Commander J. S. Kerans, sign a statement that the Amethyst had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters and had fired upon them first.
Simon the cat was credited with saving the lives of the surviving crew members by protecting the dwindling food stores from an infestation of rats, even though he had been badly wounded by shrapnel during the initial shelling.
The Amethyst finally made a break for open waters and under cover of darkness, she slipped her cable and proceeded down stream to begin a 104-mile dash for freedom running the gauntlet of Communist guns on both banks of the river. As she approached the searchlights of communist forts at the mouth of the river she broke through the boom at full speed ahead and made contact with HMS Consort, sending the time-honoured sign "Have rejoined the fleet off Woosung...God save the King".By the time Amethyst returned to the UK, Simon the cat had become a celebrity. Thousands of letters were written to him, and he was even assigned his own Naval officer to deal with the huge volume of fanmail.
Sadly, Simon died in quarantine weeks after the Amethyst returned home on 1 November 1949. He was buried with full military honours at the PDSA Animal Cemetery and posthumously awarded the prestigious Dickin Medal - the highest honour for gallantry by animals serving with the military.
Simon is the only cat among 62 animals to have received the PDSA Dickin Medal, which was instituted in 1943. The other recipients include 32 Second World War messenger pigeons, three horses and 26 dogs. Some of those dogs honoured have been recognised for bravery while on duty with British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Source - Royal Navy
Former Royal Navy officers paid tribute to famous rat catcher 'Simon the Cat', who was awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, by laying wreaths on his grave at the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) Animal Cemetery in Ilford, on the anniversary of his death.
Simon is the only feline ever to receive the prestigious PDSA Dickin Medal – the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross - for his role in the infamous Yangtse River incident which cost the lives of several British sailors.
HMS Amethyst was heading up the Yangtse River to relieve the guard ship HMS Consort, who was protecting the British Embassy at Nanking, during the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomingtang (KMT) and the Chinese Communists.
Amethyst came under heavy fire from Communist shore batteries and a series of direct hits virtually crippled the ship, killing 15 men and wounding numerous others. With the ship run aground, some of the crew managed to swim to safety but some 50 others remained on board. HMS Consort soon came to the rescue but also came under heavy fire, taking 56 hits, resulting in nine more deaths and more wounded.
Other rescue attempts were made resulting in even more deaths. For more than three months Amethyst was held a virtual prisoner by the communists who withheld vital supplies as they insisted Lieutenant Commander J. S. Kerans, sign a statement that the Amethyst had wrongly invaded Chinese national waters and had fired upon them first.
Simon the cat was credited with saving the lives of the surviving crew members by protecting the dwindling food stores from an infestation of rats, even though he had been badly wounded by shrapnel during the initial shelling.
The Amethyst finally made a break for open waters and under cover of darkness, she slipped her cable and proceeded down stream to begin a 104-mile dash for freedom running the gauntlet of Communist guns on both banks of the river. As she approached the searchlights of communist forts at the mouth of the river she broke through the boom at full speed ahead and made contact with HMS Consort, sending the time-honoured sign "Have rejoined the fleet off Woosung...God save the King".By the time Amethyst returned to the UK, Simon the cat had become a celebrity. Thousands of letters were written to him, and he was even assigned his own Naval officer to deal with the huge volume of fanmail.
Sadly, Simon died in quarantine weeks after the Amethyst returned home on 1 November 1949. He was buried with full military honours at the PDSA Animal Cemetery and posthumously awarded the prestigious Dickin Medal - the highest honour for gallantry by animals serving with the military.
Simon is the only cat among 62 animals to have received the PDSA Dickin Medal, which was instituted in 1943. The other recipients include 32 Second World War messenger pigeons, three horses and 26 dogs. Some of those dogs honoured have been recognised for bravery while on duty with British forces in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Source - Royal Navy
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